Miami Dolphins Set to Swim in NFL Playoffs

In sports, it’s not where you start it’s where you finish that counts. When the 2008 NFL season started, most people thought the Miami Dolphins would again be one of the worst teams in football. They were wrong.

The Dolphins recently completed the biggest turnaround in NFL history. They flipped a 1-15 2007 season into an 11-5 record in 2008 and made the NFL Playoffs. With a whopping 10 more wins the Fish are now AFC East champions and have a chance to swim for the Super Bowl.

"Our record was so bad last year nobody believed we could do what we're doing," Dolphins pro bowl linebacker Joey Porter told the Associated Press.

The Dolphins now face the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Wild Card match up on Sunday Jan. 4 at 1 p.m. eastern. The reason for Miami’s NFL comeback? The addition of former New York Jets quarterback Chad Pennington is one.

When the Jets got Brett Favre from the Green Bay Packers this summer, Pennington was sent to Miami. He had one of his best seasons as a pro, completing 67.4 per cent of his passes and throwing for 19 TDs and just seven interceptions.

Another reason is Porter, the former Pittsburg Steeler the Dolphins acquired in 2007. Porter is a dog on defense. His leadership swagger and career high 17.5 sacks helped the Dolphins hold NFL opponents to just 19.8 points per game in 2008.

A third reason is the addition of Bill Parcells, one of the most feared men in NFL football. He might not be Miami’s head coach but whatever the man nicknamed “the Big Tuna” seems to touch turns to NFL gold. Parcells won the Super Bowl as the head coach of the New York Giants in 1986 and in 1990. He added an AFC Championship with New England Patriots in 1996.

"A great strength of Bill Parcells in my opinion has always been his ability to poke and probe players, coaches, probably family members," Miami Head Coach Tony Sparano told AP. "Having somebody like that around to be able to do those kinds of things with our players is of tremendous value."